16A Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018
Feather River Bulletin
Andrew Srouji, 11, gives Cara
a well-deserved hug. Without
her warnings, he and
members of his family could
have been hurt or killed in an
early September fire that
consumed his First Street
Quincy home and two others.
Photo by Leila Srouji
I
25" 5-
.
Victoria Metcalf
Assistant Editor
vmetcalf@plurnasnews.com
Not all heroes are human,
said Alex Saez, Plumas County
Animal Services off er.
That's the case when a black
Labrador named Cara alerted
Salim Srouji that a fire
burning the family garage:
Salim was able to get his
mother and four young children
out of the house before it was
consumed in flames. He didn't
even have time to run back to
get their shoes, Leila Srouji
said.
A fire of an undetermined
origin started in the Sroujis'
garage and burned their home
and two others Sept 4 in East
Quincy.
House fire
Sometime around midnight,'
Leila said her brother Salim fell
asleep on the sofa. Also asleep
in the home was their mother,
Salim's three children and
Leila's son.
Cara kept barking and hitting
the window, Leila said her
brother explained. At first he
ignored the family's pet until
she made a noise that he'd
never heard from her before.
Looking out the window he
saw that the garage was fully
engulfed in flames and it was
burning rapidly toward the
house.
Quickly waking their
mother, Salim then rushed to
the rooms where his nephew
and his own three children
were sound asleep.
Salim told his sister that he
just had enough time to escape
the house with everyone and
Cara the dog.
Outside, Salim said he
realized they didn't have shoes
on, but when he turned to enter
the house to gather some, he
discovered it was already fully
engulfed in flames.
Leila was on a camping trip
in Oregon. She wouldn't
receive text messages from her
son Andrew and others until
they reached a place where
there was cell service
somewhere along the trail.
"I think my house has really
burned down," Leila
remembers telling her
boyfriend. She insisted on
cutting her much needed
vacation short and rushed
home.
Leila said that she and her
brother went in together to
purchase their big, two-story
home on First Street.
Lefla said they purchased the
home when she accepted a job
with Plumas County Public
Health Services. They moved
from Redding.
They had been living there
about a year when it was
destroyed by fire.
Although they were insured,
announce
Local Elks Lodges are again
sponsoring educational
scholarships to local students
through the Elks National
Foundation.
Most Valuable Student
Scholarship
The Elks National
Foundation will offer 500
scholarships ranging from
$4,000 to $50,000. These awards
are given over a four-year
period. The contest will once
again be a 100 percent secure,
paperless online submission
and processing application.
For more details and to
access the application, visit
enf.elks.org/mvs.
Application were available
beginning Aug. 15, and the
deadline for submissions is
Nov. 15. Lodge judging will be
completed Dec. 20. District
judging will be completed by
Jan. 14, and state judging will
be held Feb. 15 and 16, 2019.
California-Hawaii Elks
Vocational Grants
The Vocational Grant
a
Program is open to anyone
residing in California or
Hawaii who is a citizen of the
U.S. and planning to pursue
an eligible
vocational/technical course
resulting in a certificate or
two-year degree and leading
to employment opportunities.
The criteria used to
evaluate applications is based
on whether the training
program meets the def'mition
of vocational/technical
training from an accredited
educational institution as
defined by federal vocational
legislation, and whether the
course is two years or less in
length. Examples of
approved courses include, but
are not limited to: 6-month
police academy, 13-month
cosmetology program,
3-month electrical lineman,
13-month veterinary
technology course, and 2-year
fire science course.
Graduating high school
seniors may apply or any
local citizen of any age who
has a supplemental (or above)
prices for construction have
gone up, so they won't realize a
full return on their insurance
to cover the cost of rebuilding.
She said that local fire
officials have investigated the
source of the fire, her
insurance company has
investigated it and others have
as well.
Leila confessed that it was a
very charming home that was
lost in the fire. She knows that
she will never be able to
duplicate it, but as she goes
over construction designs she
knows she wants something
similar. And she plans to
rebuild on the same lot.
As for housing for the family,
she said they just found a
rental that's big enough to
house everyone.
Cara has been living at
animal services. Alex Saez said l
the family visits regularly to
see their hero who is really a
sweet dog.
Leila said they've taken her
bedding and toys, and they are
getting her favorite dog food.
They adopted Cara when she
was 3 or 4 years old. That was a=
few years ago. And she's been a:
perfect member of the family
since she joined them.
Whether Cara knows she's a
hero or not is undetermined,
but the family knows that
without her warnings their
disaster could have been much
worse.
rs
high school or preparatory
school level certifmation. A
high school diploma or
equivalent is not required.
Students should be
planning to go to work in the
chosen field upon completion
of the course.
Applications must be
completely filled out and
include all necessary !
attachments spelled out in the
application.
Using information from the l
school and submitted !
references, the student would
be rated bd. tl on motiV itiSil,
financial need, skills,
grades/aptitude and the
appearance of the
application.
Applications may be
obtained from or by
contacting the local Elks
Lodge. Applications may only
he fried with one lodge.
For additional information
on either of these two
scholarships or grants, visit
the CHEA website at
chea-elks.org/youth-activities
/scholarships.
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